Play Me

It was a no brainer.

I held out my hand and felt the same pulse between us at the moment of contact. Unable to meet his gaze, I glanced down as I retracted my hand and kicked at an invisible rock. My foot nearly caught on the invisible string again, and I wavered. With lightning speed, he caught me by the shoulders.

“Steady there.”

Do not take a step while he is here. I gave a smile. “Thanks, I’ve got it now. Sluggish feet are the worse.”

Not to mention a short-circuiting brain due to testosterone overload.

Lightly, I brushed off my hands after he released me. “Thanks again, Officer Murphy. Come by the clinic sometime if you ever need a vet.”

What. The. Hell?

If you ever need a vet?

For the most part, I was a fairly intelligent individual. But this man turned me into a blubbering, tripping goober.

“Mike.”

“Mike? Is that the name of your dog?”

He chuckled. Loudly. “No, that’s my name. Please, call me Mike. I’m only Officer Murphy when I’m in uniform.”

After this, I needed to have a serious talk with myself.

“Mike. Is that the name of your dog?” A person should only be allowed so much humiliation in one day.

I tried out his name, which came out sounding like a question. “Mike?”

“Yes, Syd?”

Oh hell, he thought I was asking him a question. What do I say? “Oh, I was just trying out your name to see how it felt on my lips.” Think fast.

“I was saying it out loud to commit it to memory. You know they say if you say a person’s name while looking at their face, it helps you remember.”

I mashed my lips together, forcing myself to stop talking. Maybe Mike would walk away, thinking I was too crazy to talk to. Or he’d move away from Salem altogether to save me from remembering these two wretched incidents every time I ran into him.

No, he smiled, and dammit if he didn’t have dimples. I was so royally screwed. “I’m glad you want to remember my name. Do you want me to walk you back?”

“No!” I nearly screamed it, and Mike took a step back. “I mean, no thank you, I’m not done yet. I use my running as a time to get my thoughts all aligned. My very, very tired thoughts.”

Stop digging a hole, Sydney.

More grinning. “Well, I’ll leave you to sorting out your very tired thoughts while running with your sluggish feet. They may need a little caffeine.”

“Oh, yeah. Maybe that’s what’s wrong. I need to get some caramel creamer. I don’t have any at the house right now.”

That was random. I wanted to pretend this never happened.

He shook his head. “I think Salem just got a bit more interesting.”

“Umm… I guess tired thoughts and sluggish feet can make any town more interesting. Who would have known?” I was grinning now, too.

Still facing me, he started jogging backward. “Be careful. Until later, Syd.”

“See ya.” I gave an awkward wave and then sighed when he turned around and jogged the other way. The muscles in his calves contracted. His shoulders were broad and strong. He had perfect form. Sigh.

For a few minutes, I waited in that spot before taking off at a snail’s pace to avoid running into him again. I needed to get my wits about me before the next time I ran into Mike Murphy, the sexy cop.

No, no, no sexy cop. Just Mike Murphy, town cop. There, that’s much better. Well, not really.

It wasn’t that I wanted to avoid guys. Things with Henry had ended three months ago as cordially as it had begun nearly a year ago. No fizz. No fire. Just safe and blah.

Mike Murphy … he was different.